Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to a pet affection indicator device so that a human can receive input indicating the amount, frequency and duration of contact and time since last contact of the pet by the human. With this invention, both the pet and the human contacting the pet, typically by petting, can have their mutual need for regular tactile interaction satisfied.
It is well known how pets benefit humans (such humans will hereinafter be referred to as the pet owners, although it should be clear that such term refers to any person favorably relating to a pet), by the pet""s ability to calm the pet owner, lower the pet owner""s blood pressure, heart rate and in general soothe and calm the owner. According to the book, Between Pets and People, by Alan Beck and Aaron Katcher, xe2x80x9cTouching reduces stress and combined with gentle talk creates a feeling of intimacy, closeness, completion.xe2x80x9d A study on the effect of pets on people by Erika Friedman carried out at the University of Maryland from 1977 to 1979 demonstrated the linkage between surviving heart disease and owning a pet. Her conclusion was that the mortality rate among people with pets was one third that of patients without pets. Another study indicated that having a pet improved a patient""s chances of surviving severe heart disease and helped the patient to be healthier. In fact the study showed that having a pet could decrease the probability of dying by about 3%. With more than one million people dying of heart disease every year, having and caressing a pet can result in a savings of thirty thousand lives.
It is also well know that most common pets derive pleasure by the touch and caresses given to them by their owners. The owner""s touch provides a soothing and calming affect on the pet""s demeanor as well, as any pet owner can testify after an absence from the pet.
The present invention relates to a pet affection indicator device comprising a sensing assembly including sensor circuitry and at least one sensor element worn by a pet, the sensing assembly producing signals representative of sensing of a human""s touching of the pet in an effective range of the sensor element; the sensor element being in electrical communication with a processor that receives the signals from the sensing element and calculates data associated with at least one of an amount, frequency, duration of the sensed touching and elapsed time since the last of the sensed touching; memory in electrical communication with the processor for storing the data associated with at least one of the amount, frequency, duration of the sensed touching and elapsed time since the last of the sensed touching; and an indicator in communication with the processor that communicates to a human an indication associated with at least one of the amount, frequency, duration of the sensed touching and elapsed time since the last of the sensed touching.
The processor could be programmed to indicate visually or aurally, or both, the amount of affection received based upon the sensing data inputted, thus indicating to the pet owner a degree of satisfaction (the owner""s satisfaction or the pet""s satisfaction as perceived by the owner). Alternatively or additionally, the computer could be programmed such that the readout device or other indicator provides a visual and/or aural indication that a pre-programmed amount, duration or frequency of petting has not occurred, so that the pet owner would likely provide more petting, enhancing the satisfaction of both the pet and the pet owner.